1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for measuring (on-line) an output multiplexor filter transfer function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital signal communication systems have been used in various fields, including digital TV signal transmission, either terrestrial or satellite. As the various digital signal communication systems and services evolve, there is a burgeoning demand for increased data throughput and added services. However, it is more difficult to implement either improvement in old systems and new services when it is necessary to replace existing legacy hardware, such as transmitters and receivers. New systems and services are advantaged when they can utilize existing legacy hardware. In the realm of wireless communications, this principle is further highlighted by the limited availability of electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, it is not possible (or at least not practical) to merely transmit enhanced or additional data at a new frequency.
The conventional method of increasing spectral capacity is to move to a higher-order modulation, such as from quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) to eight phase shift keying (8PSK) or sixteen quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM). Unfortunately, QPSK receivers cannot demodulate conventional 8PSK or 16QAM signals. As a result, legacy customers with QPSK receivers must upgrade their receivers in order to continue to receive any signals transmitted with an 8PSK or 16QAM modulation.
It is advantageous for systems and methods of transmitting signals to accommodate enhanced and increased data throughput without requiring additional frequency. In addition, it is advantageous for enhanced and increased throughput signals for new receivers to be backwards compatible with legacy receivers. There is further an advantage for systems and methods which allow transmission signals to be upgraded from a source separate from the legacy transmitter.
It has been proposed that a layered modulation signal, transmitting non-coherently both upper and lower layer signals, can be employed to meet these needs. See Utility application Ser. No. 09/844,401. Such layered modulation systems allow higher information throughput with backwards compatibility. However, even when backward compatibility is not required (such as with an entirely new system), layered modulation can still be advantageous because it requires a travelling wave tube amplifier (TWTA) peak power significantly lower than that for a conventional 8PSK or 16QAM modulation format for a given throughput.
In addition to the above, an input multiplexor (IMUX) and output multiplexor (OMUX) may be commonly used in a satellite when processing the signals. In this regard, various satellite receivers receive the broadband uplink signal. A separate receiver is used to tune/demodulate each frequency channel from the broadband uplink signal. The demodulated/individual channels pass through the IMUX that is used to separate and filter (out noise from) the individual channels. The various channels/frequencies are then amplified in and distributed by the TWTA (or power amplifiers(s)). The amplified signal passes through the OMUX which combines the power signals coming from the TWTA and feeds the combined signal to the transmit antenna for transmission via downlink signal back to earth. The OMUX (or an OMUX filter transfer function) may also provide channel filtering and/or harmonic filtering (e.g., to absorb and reject TWTA harmonics).
For various reasons, it may be desirable to determine and evaluate the various satellite processing modules (e.g., the IMUX, the TWTA, and the OMUX) (e.g., as part of routine satellite payload system monitoring). In the prior art, such an analysis was merely conducted by comparing the uplink signal to the downlink signal. However, such a comparison fails to determine the impact of individual satellite processing modules. Further, such a comparison may not provide an accurate representation of the functions performed by the satellite processing modules. To provide a high-fidelity signal (e.g., at/by the receiver), it is desirable to accurately determine such satellite processing module functionality.